Congratulations On Medal Win

Some 16 years after Northern Ireland's last Olympic medal in an individual sport - when boxer Wayne McCullough won silver for Ireland in Barcelona in 1992 - the Province has been able to celebrate again.

A 33-year-old from Co Londonderry, Wendy Houvenaghel, had been hoping to become Northern Ireland's first female gold medallist since Mary Peters in 1972, but coming in second with a Silver meant that Ms Houvenaghel refused to be despondent after her defeat in the final.

Cyclist Wendy Houvenaghel had to settle for an Olympic silver medal after being pipped by Rebecca Romero in Sunday's 3,000m individual pursuit final.

Mid Ulster MLA Billy Armstrong later hailed the success of Ms Houvenaghel noting that, while Wendy is now based in Cornwall, she hails from Upperlands in Co Londonderry, and was cheered on by her family - the McLeans - and many friends and relatives throughout Mid-Ulster and beyond.

The Ulster Unionist Assemblyman said: "It is a wonderful achievement for someone for Upperlands to even appear at the Olympic Games, but to qualify for a final and win a Silver medal is just fantastic.

"I know that Phillip and May McLean and their whole family are very proud of Wendy, and I can assure them that her Olympic exploits have been the source of pride for many others in Mid-Ulster and throughout Northern Ireland.

"I am calling on the NI Sports Minister to recognise Wendy's wonderful achievement by hosting a reception for her at Parliament Buildings in Stormont," he said.

Wendy's Great Britain team-mate Rebecca Romero proved too strong and led all the way to claim a convincing victory.

Romero was a real champion as she becomes the first British woman to win two medals in two summer Olympic sports, having won a Silver in rowing in Athens four years ago.

The 28-year-old from Surrey was over three seconds quicker than Houvenaghel, who was born in Northern Ireland but represented England in the last Commonwealth Games.

Meanwhile, Belfast boxer Paddy Barnes is just one fight away from an Olympic medal after beating Jose Luis Meza of Ecuador in the second round in Beijing.

The Irish light-flyweight champion, who had a first-round bye, won 14-8 and will now meet Poland's Lukasz Maszczyk in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

(BMcC)